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Gloucester County changes fueling procedures after West Deptford fire company truck runs out of gas

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Firefighters use foam to douse hot spots after a house burned on Fairton-Gouldtown Road in Fairfield Township in this 2008 file photo. Two foam tenders, trucks that use foam to extinguish fires, are owned by Gloucester County and operated by local fire companies. (File photo by Brian Littel)

Gloucester County is streamlining its fueling procedures for some county-owned emergency vehicles, following an incident two weeks ago that left a local fire company running on empty.

Two foam tender trucks — one operated by Colonial Manor Fire Company in West Deptford Township and one by Mantua Township Fire Department — were dispatched to a fire at an inactive PSE&G plant in Burlington City on Feb. 18.

Fuel became an issue for Colonial Manor’s crew after the PSE&G blaze when the tender, used to carry large amounts of fire-fighting foam to emergency scenes, ran out of gas as it returned to the station.

The foam tenders — the only two county-owned fire vehicles operated by local companies — could only be filled up by county personnel, who would go pick up the vehicle from the station, fill it at one of the county fueling stations in Mantua or Clayton and bring it back to the local company, according to Gloucester County spokeswoman Debra Sellitto.

She said the county hadn’t received a request to fuel either foam tender prior to Colonial Manor’s incident, but are now giving both companies access to the county’s fueling stations so they can fill up the tenders themselves.

“That will eliminate a step for them,” Sellitto said, adding the county had already been in the process of updating their fueling systems to include electronic key fob-based access and will now extend that access to two drivers from each company.

While the access requires extensive paperwork for security purposes, Freeholder Joe Chila, who serves as liaison to county emergency management services, said it’s a good move that will ensure the county equipment is prepared to respond to incidents at any time.

“The security of the county is still there, only that vehicle can get fueled by certain individuals who have access,” Chila said. “It’s a streamlined way to make sure those emergency vehicles are ready to go.”

He said the tenders are a shared service that’s based in Gloucester County but provides mutual aid for the South Jersey region.

“We’re fortunate enough to have members of fire companies who want to take this on as something they can respond to,” Chila said.